Dido Elizabeth Belle
Dido Eizabeth Belle (from 1761 to 1804) was the illegitimate daughter of Sir John Lindsay, a Royal Navy officer and a nephew of the 1st Earl of Mansfield. Her mother was Maria, an enslaved African whom Sir John met whilst his ship was in the Caribbean.
Sir John acknowledged Dido as his child and, from the 1760s she grew up in Lord Mansfield's household with her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Murray at Kenwood House, Hampstead, London.
Dido was educated and literate. As well as overseeing the running of the dairy at Kenwood, she helped Lord Mansfield with his legal correspondence. A visitor to the house commented that Dido's great-uncle "called upon (her)…every minute for this and that, and showed the greatest attention to everything she said".
By comparing the annual allowance Dido received it is clear that within the household her status was higher than that of a servant but generally below that of the rest of the family.
As Lord Chief Justice, Lord Mansfield presided over some of the most historic cases involving enslaved Africans whose status in English law was uncertain. When he died he was careful to confirm in his will that Dido was a free woman. He also left her £500 and an annual allowance of £100.
In 1793 Dido married John Davinier, a steward (a senior servant). They had three sons and lived in Pimlico until her death, aged 43.